The 2008 European Paramotor Championships will take place from the 2nd to 10th of August in Lomza, Poland. The Meet Director will be Wladyslaw Tocki, paraglider & trike pilot, organiser of the Polish Microlight Championships in 2001 and several other competitions. The Competition Director will be Leszek Mankowski, hang glider, paraglider and PPG pilot and organiser and comp director of Polish PPG and PG Nationals. Full details of the competition will be released soon.

Discuss here.

At the recent CIMA meeting held in Laussane, Switzerland in November a number of changes were made to the sporting code. Paramotoring is now the official name of the class rather than ‘Microlights - other’ that the FAI have been using up to now. The other major change was in team scoring where the the single and tandem trikes will now be scored seperately. In other changes measuring fuel must be done at within 10 degrees of the ambient temperature or by volume, slalom tasks will now be times to 10ths of second and 100th if electronic timing equipment is available and for tandem records both the pilot and the passenger must hold a valid sporting licence. In total 21 changes were made to the sporting code and you can read them in full here.

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Two pilots were flying last Saturday afternoon in southern Brittany. One noticed his colleague (François Thomas, 36) in the waters of the Vilaine river near Roche Bernand. The pilot landed, hitched a ride to the river bank on a motorcycle and was eventually joined by emergency services but they were unable to save his colleague’s life.

Discuss here.

We will be at the SPLASH show in the NEC, Brimingham, UK this weekend (24th & 25th Nov) on Stand 32. If you are coming to the show please pop by and see us at our stand and let us know what you think about the magazine. We will also have a range of flying books, DVDs and gear for sale.

For more information and details on how to get to the show go to www.theflyingshow.co.uk

Discuss here.

Michel Carnet has broken two world speed records flying a small Ozone Viper. The records, which now have to be ratified by the FAI, were speed over a 15 to 25km course in the footlaunch category. This record is currently held by Czech pilot Jiri Sramek, and speed over a 100km closed course in the trike category which had not previously been set. Michel use a Bailey JPX330 and the new Bailey Quattro 175 4-stroke trike.

In the tandem footlaunch category Michel has broken two more records flying a Dudek Orca and the Bailey JPX330 with 74-year old passenger Dave Smith. The pair took the records for speed over a straight 15/25 km course and speed over a closed circuit of 50 km. All the record claims are currently with the FAI for ratification

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“BAE Systems, the multinational arms mammoth, has announced a new vision for a south coast of England patrolled by fleets of autonomous robot sky-eyes.

The plan, called the South Coast Partnership, would see self-piloting drone aircraft deployed above the white cliffs of Dover in just five years.”

Full story at www.theregister.co.uk

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Ozone have recently upgraded the Roadster with a new line set to eliminate the roll that some pilots were experiencing. Ozone say ” The result is very good, and all pilots flying with the new lines are feeling comfortable and enjoying the performance without roll, yet handling has not been lost and safety remains high.”

The M and L size have been recertified to the EN standard with the new line set and a 20 kg extention to the upper weight ranges and are available now. The S is still waiting for the EN tests to be completed. Full details at www.flyozone.com.

Discuss here. See also this discussion.

PAP are currently looking to expand their range of motors. After months of testing PAP have decided to introduce the Vittorazi Fly Evo 100. The engine is positioned between the Top80 and the ROS 125, with 56kg of thrust with a 125cm propeller PAP say it is a quiet engine, with little vibratrion that is well made.

More details can be found at www.papteam.com

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A new radio show has been added at Powered Paragliding Radio. Hosted by Jeff Goin and Phill Russman the new program includes:

1. Don Jordan visiting Australian Richard Shelton and Bowden join Phil Russman and Jeff Goin to discuss flying in Australia from a rule and land perspective.
2. Richard and Bowden talk about what equipment is prevelant and how the schools work.
3. Mo Sheldon talks about a student who just soloed and trike training tips. Don Jordan and Phil Russman offer their suggestions.

To listen visit www.poweredParaglidingRadio.com or ppgRadio.com

Discuss here.

The 5th Annual 2008 Arizona Flying Circus is scheduled for February 8 - 10, 2008 at the incredible Franscico Grande Resort, near Casa Grande, Arizona. The organisers say that Francisco Grande offers not just an incredible place to fly, but a number of welcome amenities, including an outdoor heated pool, restaurant, bar, and a premier golf course. This will not be your typical PPG fly-in where accomodations consist of tents, mud, cold and warm beer. Ths is gearing up to be the premier event in the nation with lots of activities being planned, including competitions, cross-county flights, bonfires, seminars, a raffle of prizes, and of course lots of flying.

More details at www.azppg.com.

Discuss here.